Thursday, November 6, 2014

The Legend of Zelda is a series created by Shigeru Miyamoto for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was to be a hardcore and more adventurous answer to Mario's more arcadey and casual gameplay. Featuring several different environments and large spamming dungeons complete with boss fights and a simple but effective story it became a major success and still to this day gets games made.

While no other Zelda has rivaled it so far in terms of sheer adventure the series has progressed in a satisfying way with its combat, puzzle solving, music, storyline and characters all finding its own identity. It's currently the third most popular Nintendo franchise just under Pokemon and Super Mario Brothers and just had a recent spin-off in the warriors style gameplay called Hyrule Warriors, a new remake for Majora's Mask being announced and of course the very high anticipated open world Wii U game currently only titled The Legend of Zelda for Wii U.

Princess Zelda

Princess Zelda is one of the main characters of the series but the thing is she's actually not the same Zelda in most games. Both Link and Zelda often change characters in each game and only share themselves in the direct sequels to the tales such as Phantom Hourglass. Each Zelda has a very similar trait since they share the Tri-force of wisdom which means they are always depicted as being wise, smart and very magical. Unlike Link who takes a lot of effort to produce magic Zelda can do it with a snap of a finger. This also translates to her Super Smash Brothers. fighting style where she is one of the only magic users in the game.

This is her most common appearance as its been in 3 games so far and based off her Twilight Princess appearance. She's at her strongest and wisest in this game and a major player in the story behind the scenes and of course can effortlessly use heavy magic like Light Arrows while riding on a horse.

But I'm going to be focusing on a different Zelda. The Zelda who's in Skyward Sword and the only Zelda who has shown her feet.

In this game she's the goddess reborn and her outfit reflects that of the goddess. She's also more romantically involved with Link than ever before. She's the daughter of the mayor of Skyloft and shown to be great at knight school. Musically invested with her harp and very in-tune with her pet bird she's one of the more popular incarnations of Zelda because of her loving personality.

Zelda has had many incarnations but some of those have two different identities.

Tetra

Tetra is leader of a pirate crew in The Wind Waker and since she's a pirate she's shown to be raiding bomb stores and has a huge pirate ship.

Link meets Tetra after her crew blasted one of Ganondorf's avian henchmen kidnapping her and she fell down into a local forest surrounded by nasty monsters. She gives Link a pendant so that she may keep in contact with him during his adventure to save his sister Aryll (Scroll down for her)

Tetra is shown to be the strongest of all Zelda's and has no magical powers until she is transformed into Princess Zelda about halfway through the game. Rivaling Link's strength and having the triforce of wisdom she can hold her own.

She also has a trophy in Super Smash Brothers Brawl and Super Smash Brothers for Wii U.

Ayrll

Ayrll is Link's younger sister who is unfortunately mistakenly kidnapped after a botched Tetra heist from Ganondorf. She's bubbly and loving and even after being kidnapped she waits patiently because she trusts her brother very much. Missing her grandmother and her older brother she gets very depressed in a jail cell surrounded by other mistakenly kidnapped blonde girls until her eventual rescue about halfway through the game. After that she spends rest of the game off screen with Tetra's pirate crew.

She gives Link that telescope which is a very useful item throughout his adventure at the beginning of the game.

Ilia

Ilia is Link's love interest in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and the mayor of a small farm village. Having grown up on a farm she is very in-tune with animals and will even scold Link after she learns he has been rough with his horse. She is kidnapped early in the game but loses her memory after being knocked out by her pursuer but after a long and lengthy quest Link eventually regains it and their relationship returns to being as strong as ever.

She also appears as a trophy in Super Smash Brothers. Brawl and unconfirmed for Super Smash Brothers for Wii U.

Midna

Midna is Link's fiesty side-kick in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and a playable character in the recent Hyrule Warriors. Later revealed to be the Twilight Princess she can perform very powerful attacks with her hair as she is a demon. She has two different forms, one being a chibi and broken version of herself and another being an elegant, tall and beautiful woman.

She also appears as a trophy in Super Smash Brothers. Brawl and as both an Assist Trophy and a collectable Trophy in Super Smash Brothers for 3DS and Wii U. Hyrule Warriors is still receiving DLC and a Twilight Princess pack is the next one so there may be more with her later down the road.

Great Fairy

There are several Great Fairies throughout the series each having different roles and appearences and she makes her first playable debut in Hyrule Warriors as a weapon for Link.

In Hyrule Warriors she is a barefoot giantess who uses her size to her advantage and helps Hryulians in their time of need. She is based off her Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask appearnce with a few modifications and one of those is being barefoot. You can play as her in every level with Link once you unlock her as a weapon. You get full control over her and she has her own moveset and combos.

Another great fairy goes barefoot in Twilight Princess after you clear the cave of trials two times.

Impa

Impa is another character that changes every game she is in but shares a similar role. She is almost always Princess Zelda's adviser and protector. She is always tall, strong and very intelligent and gives Link advice throughout his adventures. Her most notable roles are in the recent Skyward Sword and Hyrule Warriors where she makes her debut as a playable character.

In Skyward Sword she is very involved with the story and even scolds Link on several occasions throughout the adventure. I won't spoil everything with her but she plays a major role in the story.

In Hyrule Warriors she is captain of the knights and she is currently training Link for the big battles ahead.

She may also have a trophy in Super Smash Brothers. For Wii U in her Skyward Sword appearance due to her large role in that game.

Marin

Marin finds Link unconscious on a beach in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening and plays a minor role in the story. She is the one who gives him a boomerang which allows him to progress in his journey.

Shown to be a loving person and talented with a harp she provides moral support for Link throughout his adventure and also receives her first and possibly only 3D model in Super Smash Brothers. Melee.

MISC

I'm almost done but now I'll dump the remaining girls. Either they are too small of a role or have no role at all they are still supporting cast members of their respective games.

The Legend of Zelda has a long and strong future ahead and I'm sure I'll be doing another tribute when the time is right. In Majora's Mask there are also barefoot dancing twins but there is no official art of them and I lack the ability to do good screenshots so they were excluded from this tribute. If I missed anyone else please speak up!